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Hi everyone! The time has come, our final block of the Beginner’s Quilt-Along (QAL). I’m a little sad to see the blocks end, but will be happy to see all of your wonderful quilts come together in September.

If you’re new here, you can find all the info and links on the Beginner’s QAL page. The tutorials will remain on this site indefinitely. I’ll also be putting together a PDF booklet that will be for sale toward the end of September. This booklet will include the block tutorials, beginner’s lessons & resources and recommended products.

Pat Sloan is quilting along with us too. She’s making three sets of blocks using her gorgeous Eat Your Fruits and Veggies fabrics. Check out Pat’s blue & yellow blocks on her blog. She’s doing the on-point layout.

Note: Next week we’ll be taking a break from the QAL to allow everyone to get the blocks completed. It seemed like a good time, as both Pat and I have insane schedules next week too, and we want to make sure we both do a good job with our lessons for you. We’ll be back Sept. 13th to put the quilt blocks together, finish the quilt top with borders and with some tips/ideas for piecing the backing.

Don’t forget to upload your completed block to the Flickr group for a chance to win prizes. Winners are chosen randomly from the completed blocks submitted by 2:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday (you have an extra week for this block). Check the Sponsors and Prizes page to see all the goodies.

Block 13 – Collect Seashells

Pat called this week’s block Collect Seashells. According to Jinny Beyer’s The Quilter’s Album of Patchwork Patterns, this block is attributed to the Ladies Art Company and first appeared in 1897. It has also been called Clover Leaf and Pinwheels in later years. You’ll see pinwheel blocks used often in quilts, usually as a four-patch unit on its own or mixed with sashing in between the segments. Both are very striking.